Ratchet and clutch device



(No Model.)

H. G; FISKE.

Ratchet and Clutch Device. No. 243,366. Y Patented June 28,1881.

poses of this description, to designate the side UNITED STATES HENRY G.FISKE, OF SPRINGFIELD, IVIASSACHUSETTS.

RATCHET AND CLUTCH DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 243,366, dated June 2s,1881.

Application tiled March 1Q, i881. (No model.)

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, HENRY G. FISKE, ot' Springfield, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImproved Ratchet or Clutch Device, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact specification and description, reference being had tothe accompanyingdrawings, making a part ot' this specification, and tothe letters and gures of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is tol provide a cheap and effective ratchetdevice for driving a shaft or train of wheels only in one direction fromanoth er shaft or wheel adapted to revolve in both directions; and Iaccomplish this by the mechanism Vsubstantially hereinafter described,and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is aside view of a driving-wheel with the ratchet-wheel connected therewith.Fig. II is a transverse section of the same at line A. Fig. III is aside view of the drivingwheel, with one of the pawls in position and theother removed, and showing the socket in which it operates. Fig. IV isan inside view of the ratchet-wheel, showing the ratchet-teeth eastthereon. Fig. Vis a transverse section of the driving-wheel at line B.Fig. VIis aplan View ot the pawl. Fig. VII is an edge view of the same,and Fig. VIII is a reverse edge view of the same.

In the drawings, l denotes a\ driving-wheel adapted to be either fixedupon a shaft or to rotate thereon, upon one side ot' which is cast anannular iange, 4, projecting to the desired distance, and inside ofwhich are cast any desired number of sets of bosses, as 6, two in eachset, as shown clearly in Figs. III and V, to form a socket to receivethe trunnion on the pawl. In the accompanying illustration Ihave showntwo sets of bosses, one set opposite the other.

The pawl 5 is made preferably curved on the outer edge, to conformapproximately to the inner surface of the flange 4, and is provided onone side with a trunnion-shaped protuberanee, e, which I denominate atrunnion.77

Although this ratchet device may be used either side uppermost in ahorizontal position or in a vertical position, I pre-fer, for the purotthe pawl opposite the trunnion as its upper77 side. This pawl terminatesat one end somewhat sharply, as at a, the face of which end ispreferably radial toits outer curved edge, and whose extreme endprojects a little above the upper side of the pawl, as shown in Figs.VII and VIII, and the upper side of the pawl is also provided with aprotuberance, c, near its opposite end, projecting also a little abovethe upper side of the pawl, as shown also in Figs. VII and VIII.

The t'runnion e fits loosely its socket between each set of bosses, sothat the pawl will tilt easily on its trunnion.

The wheel 2 is adapted to be either fixed on a shaft, or to rotatethereon, and, if it is intended -to communicate motion to a train ofwheels, is provided with teeth on its periphery or on its side, and onone side are cast ratchetteeth 3, arranged in circular order, as shownclearly in Figs. II and IV, and the outer edge of the circle of teeth 3just passes inside the annular flange 4 when the wheel 2 is placedagainst the flange, so that the wheels will turn easily in thatposition.

Any number of the pawls 5, with a set of bosses, 6, for each, may beused; but two pawls will be quite suflicient for most purposes, and onepawl will be quite operative, the advantages of two being hereinafterexplained.

This ratchet device mayy be used either to drive a shaft, or to drive awheel or atrain of wheels, and. the wheel l may be secured to a fixedshaft so as to revolve freely thereon; or it may be securely keyed orfixed to a revolving shaft, in eithercase so that the wheel 1 may berevolved in either direction.

The wheel 2 may be keyed or secured permanently to a revolving shaft, inwhich case it will give motion to said shaft in one direction; oritmaybe secured to a fixed shaft so as to revolve freely thereonindependently of the shaft, in which case spur-teethmay be made on theperiphery of the wheel, or on its side, to gear 'into another wheel orset of wheels, which will then be driven in only one direction by thewheel 2.

The operation of the device is such that when the wheel 2 is placedagainst the flange 4 of the wheel 1, and with the pawls 5 in place, as

shown clearly in Fig. II, as the driving-wheel IOO l is revolved thepawls 5 move around against the outer ends ofthe ratchet-teeth 3, thepro, tuberance c being depressed between two teeth by the projecting enda of the pawl riding against another tooth, and the eXtreme end a of thepawl being depressed between two teeth into position to engage againstone of them by the protuberance c riding against a tooth, so that theVengaging' end a of the pawl is always forced into position to engageagainst a tooth by the contact of the other end ofthe pawl with theouter surface of another tooth.

It is preferable to arrange the teeth and pawls so that only one pawlwill engage with a tooth at one and the same time, so that theengagement will occur as quickly as possible, and with the minimumamountof lost motion of the driving-wh eel. It'an odd number ofratchet-teeth 3 he used, and two pawls be used of the same size andplaced opposite each other, only one of the pawls will engage at a timeagainst a tooth, and the lost motion bef'ore engage- 'ment will'be onlyhalf as much as when a single pawl is used.

lt is evident that this ratchet device is adapted to be used inconnection with many different machines, and is equally operative in oneposition as another, whether placed horizontally, either side uppermost,or vertically.

It has the advantage also ot' being cheap, as-

every part may be cast and be put together just as it comes from thefoundry and without any finish whatever, and in its operation it ispositive, as the pawl is forced into position to engage with every toothby the contact ot' each tooth, as they revolve, with the protuberance onthe paw] at c, instead of the uncertainty incidental to the use ofsprings.

I denominate the space between each two bosses 6 the trimmen-socken7 aseach set of bosses forms a socket to receive the trunnion of the pawl,in which the latter may vibrate or tilt.

The annular flange 4 may be made with numerous perforations of variousand ornamental forms; or it may extend only partially around, and onlyat that portion where the pawls are located, to keep them in place; butI prefer in practice to make it, as shown in the drawings, extendingaround the entire circle and solid, to hold the pawls in place andexclude dirt and other matter therefrom.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- Thecombination, with a driving-wheel, of a ratchet-wheel having a series ofratchet-teeth on its side arranged in a general circular form, a pawladapted at one end to engage with said ratchet-teeth, and having atrunnion on one side and a protubcrance on the opposite side, near itsend, against which said ratchet-teeth impinge when moving past saidteeth, and a socket on the side of said driving-wheel to receive thetrunniou ot` said pawl, and in which the latter may tilt, substantiallyas described.

HENRY G. FISKE.

Witnesses:

T. A. CURTIS, CHAs. H. Woon.

